By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade ruled on Wednesday that the codeshare agreement signed between Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA (GOLL4.SA) and Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras SA (AZUL4.SA) must be formally notified to the authority within 30 days. The decision was published on Cade’s official website and follows an inquiry under a Concentration Act Investigation Procedure (Apac) to determine whether the pact required regulatory oversight.
Relator Carlos Jacques stressed that this is not a merger case but rather an assessment of whether the codeshare should undergo competition review. “Codeshare contracts do not benefit from automatic antitrust exemption and must be assessed individually,” he said. Jacques outlined key criteria for Cade’s scrutiny: the involvement of domestic carriers, overlapping networks, bilateral arrangements and potential effects equivalent to mergers, especially risks of coordination between competitors.
Cade’s criteria and precedent
In his opinion, Jacques revisited the regulator’s past evaluations of codeshare agreements, underlining that there is no pro-competitive presumption in such contracts. He emphasized that agreements between domestic airlines on local routes raise greater competitive concerns than those involving international operators. For this reason, he argued, the ruling in the TAM–Qatar case does not apply to the Gol–Azul arrangement due to different operational contexts.
Unanimous ruling and restrictions
The Cade tribunal unanimously supported Jacques’ interpretation, invoking Article 88, §7 of Law No. 12.529/2011, which allows the watchdog to demand notification of transactions not automatically subject to filing. Until the review is completed, Gol and Azul are barred from expanding their codeshare network. Should the companies fail to notify the agreement within the 30-day deadline, the deal must be suspended immediately, with previously issued tickets honored for consumers.
The case is registered under file number 08700.003565/2024-49 at Cade.